Big jump in online enrolment at Saskatoon schools, according to preliminary numbers

Thousands of kids in both Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) and in Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) are now taking advantage of online learning options.

According to a report presented to SPS at its Tuesday board meeting, as of Sept.16, there were 3,475 students registered for both elementary and high school taking online classes.

That’s more than 10 times the number enrolled during the same time last year at 289.

The Online Learning Centre (OLC) has offered classes to high school and adult-aged students for the last 20 years. Planning, however, for the current school year began in June, when it was anticipated that the demand for online resources would increase significantly.

According to the report, there are 2,087 students enrolled in the K- 8 English program, 412 in the K-8 French immersion program, and 976 in the full-time collegiate program.

In the GSCS, there are 1,364 elementary school students taking online classes, the first time that’s ever been an option.

Numbers aren’t available for high school, though. According to spokesperson Derrick Kunz, that’s because high school students have the option of taking some of their classes online, and others in-person.

Also, there are a variety of reasons for students choosing online classes and according to Kunz, “the number of high school students registered for online courses doesn’t give any insight as to how many are opting for online because of COVID-19.”

In SPS, there’s been a huge jump in the number of teachers who are part of the online learning system. The report shows that in 2019, there were 14 full-time equivalent (FTE) classroom teachers, along with an administrative team and one admin. assistant.

This year, there are 80 FTE classroom teachers; 54 elementary school teachers and 26 secondary school teachers. Along with that, there are now two principals, two vice-principals and two admin. assistants. There are also English as an Additional Language (EAL), resource teachers, life skills teachers, technology support teachers, arts and physical education support teachers and one counsellor.

It’s not clear from the report whether any new teachers were hired, or whether teachers were moved from the classroom to online learning or a combination of both.

The report also says that while registration for online classes began Aug. 10, the demand quickly skyrocketed. By mid-September, the OLC had to be closed to students outside of the division in order to avoid unmanageable numbers of students.

The need for technology and support was also an issue. So, SPS collected devices and computers from schools throughout the division, refurbished them, and distributed them to families to mitigate technology access barriers. It’s not clear, however, how many computers went out to families and/or students.

While the numbers are still preliminary, the final results must be sent to the Ministry of Education by the end of September.